December 31st Events in History | |
| 2008 | One leap second is added to the end of the year |
| 1999 | Control of Panama Canal reverts to Panama |
| 1999 | The London Eye, the world's largest Ferris wheel, opens by the banks of the Thames |
| 1998 | U.S. movie box office hits record $6.24 billion for year |
| 1997 | Intel cuts price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268 |
| 1997 | Marv Levy, retires as coach of Buffalo Bills |
| 1997 | Microsoft buys Hotmail E-mail service |
| 1997 | More Swedes died than were born in 1997, 1st time since 1809 |
| 1997 | Orlando Hernandez, half-brother of pitcher Livan, defects from Cuba |
| 1997 | South African and U.S. surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head |
| 1995 | Danny Gans on Broadway closes at Neil Simon New York City |
| 1995 | Having Our Say closes at Booth Theater New York City after 308 performances |
| 1995 | Heiress closes at Cort Theater New York City after 340 performances |
| 1995 | Paul Roebson closes at Longacre Theater New York City after 14 performances |
| 1995 | Racing Demon closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater New York City after 48 performances |
| 1995 | Tempest closes at Broadhurst Theater New York City after 71 performances |
| 1995 | 62nd Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech beats Texas |
| 1995 | Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip |
| 1995 | Matthew Elliott scores separate cricket century same day for Victoria |
| 1994 | 1st snowless December in Baltimore Maryland |
| 1994 | Anti Apartheid Group of Netherlands (AABN) disbands |
| 1993 | Barbra Striesand does her 1st live public concert in 20 years |
| 1993 | Loveboat actress Jill Whelan (27) weds Brad St. John (33) |
| 1992 | Target date for Europe's single market |
| 1992 | WCBS TV news anchor Carol Martin weds Joe Terry |
| 1991 | CPN, Communist Party of Netherland, last day of existance |
| 1991 | Daniel R McCarthy elected New York Yankee managing general partner |
| 1991 | Dow Jones closes at record high 3168.83 |
| 1991 | J Donald Crump resigned as CFL Commissioner |
| 1991 | U.S.S.R., last day of existence |
| 1990 | Iraq begins a military draft of 17 year olds |
| 1990 | Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting |
| 1990 | United Somali Congress seizes Presidential Palace |
| 1989 | Me and My Girl closes at Marquis Theater New York City after 1420 performances |
| 1989 | Threepenny Opera closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City after 65 performances |
| 1989 | Actress Annabella Sciorra (Jungle Fever) weds Joe Petruzzi |
| 1989 | Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolls in on Bears 20-12 victory over Eagles |
| 1989 | Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year |
| 1986 | Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 97 |
| 1986 | Russian TU-144 flies for 1st time faster than sound |
| 1986 | WIS-AM in Columbia South Carolina changes call letters to WVOC (now WOMG) |
| 1984 | Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash |
| 1984 | New York City subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in New Hampshire |
| 1984 | Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India's 6th Prime Minister succeeds his mother, Indira Gandhi |
| 1984 | Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin, vs. England at Calcutta |
| 1984 | U.S. leaves UNESCO |
| 1983 | Brunei gains complete independence from Britain |
| 1983 | Jose Happart installed as mayor of Voeren Belgium |
| 1983 | Nigeria's National Assembly dissolves after military coup |
| 1982 | CBS Mystery Theater final episode on radio after 8 years |
| 1982 | NBC radio cancels almost all of its network daily features |
| 1982 | TV soap "Doctors" ends 19 year run |
| 1981 | CNN Headline News debuts |
| 1981 | Lt Jerry Rawlings becomes head of Ghana, suspends constitution |
| 1981 | Netherlands unemployment stands at record 475,000 |
| 1980 | A Jewish owned hotel in Nairobi Kenya is bombed killing 18 |
| 1980 | New York Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks |
| 1980 | Senegal president Leopold Senghor resigns |
| 1979 | Winterland Rock Concert Hall in San Francisco closes after 556 concerts |
| 1978 | Magic Show closes at Cort Theater New York City after 1859 performances |
| 1978 | Runaways closes at Plymouth Theater New York City after 199 performances |
| 1978 | CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy |
| 1978 | Iran shah names Chapour Bakhtiar premier |
| 1978 | Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with US |
| 1977 | Bubbling Brown Sugar closes at ANTA Theater New York City after 766 performances |
| 1977 | Man of La Mancha closes at Palace Theater New York City after 124 performances |
| 1977 | Amir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah becomes leader of Kuwait |
| 1977 | Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam |
| 1977 | Donald Woods, a banned white editor flees South Africa |
| 1977 | Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado |
| 1976 | TV soap "Somerset" ends 6 year run |
| 1976 | The Cars played their 1st gig |
| 1975 | 42nd Sugar Bowl: Alabama 13 beats Penn State 6 |
| 1974 | 41st Sugar Bowl: Nebraska 13 beats Florida 10 |
| 1974 | Free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter signs $3M 5 year New York Yankees contract |
| 1974 | Gold legal in U.S., Franklin Mint strikes Panama's Gold 100 balboa coin |
| 1974 | Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac |
| 1974 | New York Yankees sign Jim "Catfish" Hunter to 5 years for record $3.75 million |
| 1974 | Popular Electronics displays Altair 8800 computer |
| 1973 | 40th Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame 24 beats Alabama 23 |
| 1973 | 61st Australian Mens Tennis: John Newcombe beats O Parun (63 67 75 61) |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff chosen European soccer Player of year |
| 1972 | 39th Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma 14 beats Penn State 0 |
| 1972 | Leap second day; also in 1973-79, 1987 |
| 1972 | Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 in AFC championship game |
| 1972 | Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys 26-3 in NFC championship game |
| 1971 | KAID TV channel 4 in Boise, Idaho (PBS) begins broadcasting |
| 1971 | Lieutenant General Robert E Cushman,, Jr., USMC, ends term as deputy director of CIA |
| 1970 | Congress authorizes Eisenhower dollar coin |
| 1970 | President Allende nationalizes Chilean coal mines |
| 1970 | Would have been start of Australia/England Test Cricket at MCG, washed out |
| 1969 | Congo-Brazzaville becomes People's republic, under major Ngouabi |
| 1968 | 1st supersonic airliner flown (Russian TU-144) |
| 1968 | 1st test flight of Tupolev TU 144 |
| 1968 | New York Jets win AFL championship |
| 1967 | Henry, Sweet Henry closes at Palace Theater New York City after 80 performances |
| 1967 | 1st NBA game at Great Western Forum, Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston 147-118 |
| 1967 | Oakland Raiders beat Houston Oilers 40-7 in AFL championship game |
| 1967 | Packers beat Cowboys 21-17 in NFL championship game (-13 degrees F) |
| 1966 | Monkee's "I'm a Believer" hits #1 and stays there for 7 weeks |
| 1966 | Test Cricket debut of Bishen Singh Bedi, India vs. WI Calcutta, 2-92 |
| 1966 | Toboggan Chutes begin operation in Cleveland Metroparks |
| 1964 | Donald Campbell (UK) sets world water speed record (276.33 mph) |
| 1964 | Indonesia proclaims expelled from the UN |
| 1963 | Chicago Bears win NFL championship |
| 1963 | Dear Abby show premieres on CBS radio (runs 11 years) |
| 1963 | Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir played music together for the 1st time |
| 1962 | Match Game debuts on NBC with host Gene Rayburn |
| 1962 | American Basketball League announces suspension of operation |
| 1962 | Dutch leave New Guinea |
| 1962 | Katanga becomes part of Democratic Republic of Congo |
| 1962 | Ohio ends suit against Reds when they agree to stay in Cincinnati for 10 yrs |
| 1961 | lrma La Douce closes at Plymouth Theater New York City after 527 performances |
| 1961 | 1st performance of Beach Boys |
| 1961 | Beach Boys play their debut gig under that name |
| 1961 | Failed coup by Syrian group in Lebanon |
| 1961 | Green Bay Packers shutout New York Giants 37-0 in NFL championship game |
| 1961 | Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $12 billion |
| 1958 | 47th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Brisbane (3-2) |
| 1958 | Cubans dictator Batista flees |
| 1958 | International Geophyscial Year ends |
| 1958 | Willie Shoemaker 1st jockey to win national riding championship 4X |
| 1957 | AAU awards Bobby Morrow, James Sullivan Memorial Trophy |
| 1955 | Vamp closes at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 60 performances |
| 1953 | Hulan Jack sworn in as Manhattan Borough president |
| 1953 | WFBC (now WYFF) TV channel 4 in G'ville-Spartanburg, South Carolina (NBC) begins |
| 1953 | Willie Shoemaker shatters record, riding 485 winners in a year |
| 1951 | 1st battery to convert radioactive energy to electrical announced |
| 1950 | Jockeys W Shoemaker and Joe Culmone set record of 388 wins in a year |
| 1949 | 18 countries recognize Republic Indonesia |
| 1948 | Dutch police actions up Java gone on strike |
| 1946 | French troops leave Lebanon |
| 1946 | President Truman officially proclaims end of WW II |
| 1945 | Bradman scores 112, his 1st post-War century, SA vs. Australia Services |
| 1945 | Ratification of United Nations Charter completed |
| 1944 | 48 people die in a train accident in Ogden, Utah |
| 1944 | Japanese army evacuates harbor city Akyab |
| 1943 | New York City's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theater |
| 1942 | 60 U boats sunk this month (330,000 ton) |
| 1942 | Battle in Barents Sea |
| 1942 | Potatoes rationed in Holland |
| 1941 | Young Park (2) in the Bronx named in honor of Samuel Young |
| 1940 | 37 U boats sunk this month (213,000 ton) |
| 1939 | 25 U boats sunk this month (81,000 ton) |
| 1938 | Dr. R N Harger's "drunkometer," 1st breath test, introduced in Indiana |
| 1935 | CPH becomes Dutch Communist Party |
| 1935 | Charles Darrow patents Monopoly |
| 1934 | Helen Richey becomes 1st woman to pilot an airmail transport |
| 1932 | John P O'Brien sworn-in as mayor of New York City |
| 1930 | Pontifical encyclical Casti connubii against mixed marriages |
| 1930 | U.S. tobacco industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in 1930 |
| 1929 | Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini illius magistri |
| 1927 | Ponsford scores 336 against SA, giving him 1146 for month |
| 1925 | 14th congress of CPSU decides to accelerate industry |
| 1924 | Hubble announces existence of distant galaxies |
| 1923 | 1st transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice, Pittsburgh-Manchester |
| 1923 | BBC begins using Big Ben chime ID |
| 1923 | H Tierney/J McCarthy's musical "Kid Boots," premieres in New York City |
| 1921 | Last San Francisco firehorses retired |
| 1920 | Roy Park makes 1st-ball duck in only Test Cricket India, vs. England at MCG |
| 1918 | Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as White Sox manager |
| 1917 | Dutch Social-democratic trade union NVV counts 159,450 members |
| 1914 | Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Cap Huston purchase New York Yankees for $460,000 |
| 1911 | Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize |
| 1910 | U.S. tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in 1910 |
| 1907 | For 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal new year |
| 1907 | G Mahler conducts the Metropolitan Opera |
| 1906 | French/British/Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia |
| 1902 | Boers and British army sign peace treaty |
| 1897 | Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into New York City (1/1/1898) |
| 1896 | 25th auto built in US |
| 1890 | Ellis Island, in New York City, opens as a U.S. immigration depot |
| 1879 | Cornerstone laid for Iolani Palace (only royal palace in U.S.) |
| 1879 | Cornerstone laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace |
| 1879 | Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp |
| 1879 | Gilbert/Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance," premieres in New York City |
| 1879 | Opera "Pirates of Penzance" is produced (New York City) |
| 1870 | J D Schneiter patents rocket mail in France, (not done) |
| 1862 | Battle of Stone's River, Tennessee (Stone River, Monfreesboro) |
| 1862 | Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| 1862 | President Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to Union |
| 1862 | Skirmish at Parker Cross Roads, Tennessee |
| 1862 | Union ironclad ship "Monitor" sank off Cape Hatteras, NC |
| 1861 | 22,990 mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in 1861, world record |
| 1859 | Dutch colony in Dutch Indies counts 4,800 slaves |
| 1857 | Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada |
| 1852 | Future president and Mrs. Rutherford B Hayes marry |
| 1841 | Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons |
| 1805 | End of French Republican calendar; France returns to Gregorianism |
| 1783 | Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern states |
| 1781 | Bank of North America, 1st U.S. bank opens |
| 1779 | English fleet beat Dutch Merchant vessels |
| 1776 | Rhode Island establishes wage and price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors |
| 1775 | Battle of Quebec; Americans unable to take British stronghold |
| 1762 | Mozart family moves from Vienna to Salzburg |
| 1758 | British expeditionary army occupies Goree (Dakar) Senegal |
| 1756 | Russia joins the Alliance of Versailles |
| 1745 | Bonnie Prince Charlies army meets with de Esk |
| 1744 | James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's nutation motion (wobble) |
| 1711 | Duke of Marlborough fired as English army commander |
| 1708 | Great Alliance captures Bridge |
| 1700 | Frisia/Groningen adopt Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is 1/12/1701 |
| 1688 | Pro-James II-earl of Devonshire occupies Nottingham |
| 1687 | 1st Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope |
| 1680 | Amsterdam opera at Leidsegracht opens |
| 1670 | France and England sign Boyne-treaty |
| 1669 | France and Brandenburg sign secret treaty |
| 1621 | Hungarian King Bethlen Gabor/Ferdinand II sign Treaty of Mikulov |
| 1604 | Admiral Steven van der Haghen's fleet reaches Bantam |
| 1600 | British East India Company chartered |
| 1564 | Willem van Orange demands freedom of conscience/religion |
| 1502 | Cesare Borgia (son of pope Alexander VI) occupies Urbino |
| 1492 | 100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily |
| 870 | Skirmish at Englefield: Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army |
| 765 | Coffin of Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China |
| 406 | 80,000 Vandels attack the Rhine at Mainz |
| 335 | St. Silvester I ends his reign as Catholic Pope |
December 31st Birthdays in History | |
| 1977 | Ildiko Kecan, Miss Hungary Universe 1997 |
| 1976 | Vanessa Kerry, American Celebrity |
| 1975 | Cole Ford, kicker for the Oakland Raiders |
| 1973 | Curtis Myden, Calgary Alberta, 200m/400m swimmer, 3 Bronze Medals 1996, 2000 Olympics |
| 1973 | George Jones, running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1973 | Hiroyuki Miura, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998 |
| 1972 | Chris Parker, running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 1972 | Cole Ford, NFL kicker for the Oakland Raiders |
| 1972 | Joseph Mulrey McIntyre, rocker, New Kids-Lovin' You Forever |
| 1972 | Kelvin Kinney, defensive end for the Washington Redskins |
| 1971 | Brent Barry, NBA guard for the Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1971 | Erin Warren, Winchester Massachusetts, luger 1994 Olympics |
| 1971 | Heath Shuler, NFL quarterback, Washington Redskins, NO Saints |
| 1970 | Bryon Russell, NBA forward, Utah Jazz |
| 1970 | Dan Howe, Kingston Ontario, canoeist 1996 Olympics |
| 1970 | Dunstan Anderson, NFL defensive end, Dolphins, NO Saints, Rhein Fire |
| 1970 | Edwin Huizinga, Dutch soccer player, South Carolina Heerenveen, Emmen |
| 1970 | Michel Brunet, Gatineau Quebec, ice dancer, 1996 Canadians-2nd |
| 1969 | Martha Byrne, actress, Lily-As the World Turns |
| 1967 | Brad Daluiso, NFL place kicker for the New York Giants |
| 1966 | Paula Barbieri, model/girlfriend of OJ Simpson/actress, Dangerous |
| 1965 | Michelle Dobek, Holyoke, Massachusetts, golfer, 1995 GHP Heartland Classic-45th |
| 1965 | Gong Li, born in Shenyang, China, actress, appeared in director Zhang Yimou's film, Ju Dhou, Red Sorghum, received Golden Rooster award |
| 1965 | Julie Doucet, Canadian Artist |
| 1965 | Nicholas Sparks, born in Omaha, Nebraska, bestselling author, writer, novelist, wrote, 'A Walk to Remember', author of novels including, 'Nights in Rodanthe', 'The Last Song', 'The Notebook' |
| 1964 | Denis Hickey, cricketer, fast bowler for Vic, SA and Glamorgan |
| 1964 | Klari MacAskill, Budapest Hungary, kayaker, Olympics-5-92, 96 |
| 1964 | Liz Masakayan, Quezon City Phil, WPVA volley, Best of Beach-3rd-1994 |
| 1964 | Winston Benjamin, cricketer, WI righty quick 1987-95 |
| 1963 | Ed Simmons, NFL tackle for the Washington Redskins |
| 1963 | Scott Ian, U.S. heavy metal guitarist, Anthrax-I'm the Man |
| 1962 | Don Diamont, actor, Brad-Young and Restless |
| 1962 | Tyrone Corbin, NBA forward, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks |
| 1962 | Jeff Flake, American Politician |
| 1961 | Joanna Johnson, actress, Caroline-Bold and Beautiful |
| 1961 | Rick Aguilera, San Gabriel California, pitcher for the Minnesota Twins |
| 1960 | Broderick Dyke, Australia, tennis star |
| 1959 | Bebe Neuwirth, Princeton, New Jersey, actress, Lilith-Cheers, Damn Yankees |
| 1959 | Paul Westerberg, singer, The Replacements |
| 1959 | Val Kilmer, actor, Top Secret, Top Gun, Willow |
| 1958 | Geoff Marsh, cricketer, Australia opening batsman 1985-92 |
| 1957 | David Allen Ogrin, Waukegan, Illinois, PGA golfer, 1994 Byron Nelson-2nd |
| 1956 | Martin Joseph Fettman, born in Brooklyn, New York, PhD/astronaut, STS-58 |
| 1953 | James Remar, Boston, actor, 48 Hours, Rent-a-Cop, Cotton Club |
| 1953 | Jane Badler, born in Brooklyn, New York, actress, Fine Gold, Easy Kill, V |
| 1953 | Trevor Phillips, British Politician |
| 1951 | Fermin Goytisolo, rocker, KC and Sunshine Band-Give It |
| 1951 | Michael Allen Bantom, Philadelphia, basketball player 1972 Olympics silver |
| 1951 | Tom Hamilton, Colorado Springs Co, rock bassist, Aerosmith-Dream On |
| 1950 | Inge Helten, born in West Germany, sprinter 1976 Olympics bronze |
| 1950 | Robert Bryan Gilder, Corvallis OR, PGA golfer, 1980 Canadian Open |
| 1948 | Donna Summer, Boston, singer, Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio |
| 1948 | Joe Dallesandro, Pensicola, Florida, actor, Heat, Trash, AW Frankenstein |
| 1948 | Tony Hamilton, rocker, Aerosmith |
| 1948 | Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasieyv, Russian cosmonaut, Soyuz TM-11, TM-18 |
| 1947 | Burton Cummings, rock guitarist, Guess Who-These Eyes |
| 1947 | Tim Matheson, born in California, actor, Animal House, Fletch, Up the Creek |
| 1946 | Barbara Carrera, Managua Nicaragua, actress, Angelica-Dallas |
| 1946 | Diane von Furstenberg, Brussels Belgiums, fashion designer |
| 1946 | Patti Smith, born in Chicago, Illinois, rock vocalist, Radio Ethiopia |
| 1945 | Claude D. Marks, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, FALN member, FBI most wanted |
| 1945 | Taylor Hackford, director, Idolmaker, Officer and a Gentleman |
| 1945 | Connie Willis, American Writer |
| 1944 | Taylor Hackford, director, Devil's Advocate |
| 1943 | Ben Kingsley, Scarborough England, actor, Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice |
| 1943 | John Denver, New Mexico, singer, 'Rocky Mountain High', 'Thank God He's a Country Boy' |
| 1942 | Andy Summers, born in Blackpool, England, rock guitarist, Police-Roxanne |
| 1941 | Milkha Singh, cricketer, bro of Kripal Singh India batsman in 4 Tests |
| 1941 | Sarah Miles, born in Essex, England, actress, Ryan's Hope, Big Sleep, Venom |
| 1941 | Alex Ferguson, English Coach |
| 1940 | Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev, Russian cosmonaut |
| 1939 | Afaq Hussain, cricketer, Pakistani off-spinner in 2 Tests 1961-64 |
| 1939 | Willye White, U.S. long jumper, Silver Medals 1956, 1964 Olympics |
| 1939 | Peter Camejo, American Businessman |
| 1938 | Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Holland, speed skater, world champ |
| 1938 | Henricus G Wijmans, Dutch graphic artist |
| 1938 | Rosalind Cash, Atlantic City, New Jersey, actress, Omega Man, Wrong is Right |
| 1937 | Anthony Hopkins, born in Wales, actor, Elephant Man, QB VII, Magic, Bounty |
| 1937 | Nicolas Born, born in Duisburg, Germany, writer, wrote, 'Die Falschung', 'Die erdabgewandte Seite der Gerschichte' |
| 1935 | Peter Allan, cricketer, 1 Test Australia vs. England 1965, 2-58 and 0-25 |
| 1932 | George Schlatter, TV producer, Laugh-in |
| 1931 | Bob Shaw, UK, sci-fi author, Orbitsville, Ragged Astronauts, Vertigo |
| 1930 | Ala Odetta, Odetta Holmes, Birmingham, folk singer/actress |
| 1930 | Odetta, Holmes, Birmingham, Alabama, folk singer, Sanctuary |
| 1929 | Mies Bouman, Dutch TV hostess, Open the Village |
| 1929 | Peter Barker Howard, cricketer |
| 1929 | Peter May, cricketer, dashing English batsman of 50's |
| 1929 | Sidney Greenbaum, grammarian |
| 1928 | Hugh McElhenny, NFL halfback, SF, Minnesota, Giants, Detroit |
| 1928 | Ross Barbour, Columbus, Indiana, singer, 4 Freshmen |
| 1928 | Veijo Meri, born in Viipuri, now Vyborg, Russia, writer, novelist, poet, focuses on absurdity of war, published biography of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim |
| 1927 | Dieter Noll, born in Riesa, Germany, writer, wrote two-volume novel Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt, over two million copies sold, volume one used as East German school curriculum |
| 1924 | Victoria Draves, U.S., platform/springboard diver 1948 Olympics gold |
| 1922 | Joan McCracken, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, actress, Claudie Story of a Marriage |
| 1922 | Rex Allen, Wilcox, Arizona, cowboy singer, Dr. Baxter-Frontier Doctor |
| 1916 | Suzy Delair, Paris, France, actress, Utopia, White Paws |
| 1914 | Pat Brady, Toledo Ohio, actor, Roy Rodgers Show |
| 1910 | Dick Kollmar, Rigewood, New Jersey, actor, Broadway Spotlight, Guess What |
| 1910 | Roy Rowland, film director |
| 1908 | Marko Rothmuller, composer |
| 1908 | Simon Wiesenthal, Polish/Austrian nazi hunter, Wiesenthal Center |
| 1906 | Erna Bogen, Hungary, foils, Olympic-bronze-1932 |
| 1905 | Guy Mollet, French socialist premier, 1956-57 |
| 1905 | Jule Styne, England, songwriter/composer, 1954 Academy Award, 1968 Tony |
| 1904 | Chuck Gardiner, UK, NHL goalie, Vezina winner |
| 1904 | Nathan Milstein, born in Odessa, Russia, concert violinist, Philadelphia Orchestra 1942 |
| 1899 | Gaston Glass, Paris, France, film executive |
| 1899 | Silvestre Revueltas, Santiago Papasquiaro Mexico, composer, Sensemaya |
| 1897 | Rhys Williams, Wales, actor, Nightmare, Okinawa, Cross My Heart |
| 1896 | Ronald Adam, Herefordshire England, actor, Phantom Shot |
| 1894 | Ernest John Moeran, British composer |
| 1894 | Pola Negri, Barbara A Chalupiec, Polish/U.S. actress, Madame Dubarry |
| 1893 | J M Blankenberg, cricketer, 60 wkts in 18 Tests for South Africa |
| 1893 | Max Lamberty, Flemish sociologist/author, Flemish Resurrection |
| 1892 | Jason Robards Sr, Hillsdale, Michigan, actor, Acapulco |
| 1882 | Ben Jones, Missouri, horse trainer, Citation, Whirlaway |
| 1882 | David Cohen, Dutch historian/chairman, Jewish Council |
| 1881 | Colin G Fink, U.S. chemist, electro chemistry |
| 1881 | Jacob Israel de Haan, Dutch poet and writer, Pipelines, Jewish Song |
| 1881 | Max Pechstein, German "entartet" painter/graphic artist, The Bridge |
| 1880 | George C Marshall, Uniontown, Pennsylvania, authored Marshall Plan, Nobel 1953 |
| 1880 | George Marshall, American Statesman |
| 1880 | George C. Marshall, American Soldier |
| 1878 | Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan author and poet, El Crimen del Otro |
| 1874 | Ernest Austin, composer |
| 1870 | Thomas Connolly, baseball's major league umpire for 50 years |
| 1869 | Henri Matisse, France, impressionist painter, Odalisque |
| 1864 | Robert G Aitken, U.S. astronomer, Binary Stars |
| 1863 | Alfredo Panzini, Italian author, Dizionario Moderno |
| 1859 | Max Fiedler, composer |
| 1856 | Charles A van Ophuysen, orientalist, Maleisisch Volksrecht |
| 1855 | Giovanni Pascoli, Italian classicist/poet |
| 1846 | Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, vicar/Dutch anarchist, Right for all |
| 1846 | Richard Kleinmichel, composer |
| 1838 | Emile Loubet, premier/president of France, 1892, 1899-1906 |
| 1830 | Ismail Pasha, kedive of Egypt, 1863-79 |
| 1830 | Alexander Smith, Scottish Poet |
| 1826 | Henry Hiles, composer |
| 1825 | Francis Trowbridge Sherman, Brigadier General Union volunteers |
| 1818 | Maria J Small-Gartmann, actress |
| 1815 | George Gordon Meade, Major General Union Army |
| 1805 | Marie-C-S de Flavigny Agoult, Daniel Stern, French author, Knife |
| 1799 | Thomas Taglichsbeck, composer |
| 1738 | Charles Lord Cornwallis, soldier/statesman "fire when ready Gridley" |
| 1724 | Franz Joseph Oehlschlagel, composer |
| 1720 | [Bonnie Prince] Charles Edward Stuart, English pretender to throne |
| 1668 | Hermannus Boerhaave, Dutch medical/botanist |
| 1668 | Herman Boerhaave, Dutch Scientist |
| 1550 | Henri Guise [le Balafre], French duke/leader, Catholic League |
| 1540 | Silvio Antoniano, Italian cardinal/theologist, Tre libri |
| 1514 | Andreas Vesalius, Brussels Belgium, anatomist, Fabrica |
| 1378 | Callistus III, Alfonso the Borja, Pope, 1455 - 1458 |
December 31st Deaths in History | |
| 2001 | Eileen Heckart, actress, Butterflies Are Free, dies at 82 |
| 2000 | Jose Greco, flamenco dancer, Ship of Fools, dies at 82 |
| 2000 | Alan Cranston, Senator-D-California, 1969 - 1993 |
| 2000 | Kenneth Lee Pike, American Sociologist |
| 1999 | Elliot Richardson, honest U.S. attorney general, fired by Nixon after he refused to fire Archibald Cox, dies at 79 |
| 1997 | Dominique de Menil, arts patron/human rights advocate, dies at 89 |
| 1997 | Floyd Cramer, pianist, session player, architect of the 'Nashville Sound', played piano on Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel, dies of lung cancer at age 64 |
| 1997 | Lillian Billie Dove Bohney, actress, dies at 96 |
| 1997 | Michael Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, dies in ski accident at 39 |
| 1996 | 61 law enforcement officers, killed by felons in U.S. this year |
| 1996 | Ann Susan Hills, freelance journalist, dies at 55 |
| 1996 | David Sinclair, actor (Love and Hate), dies at 62 |
| 1996 | Frederico Davia, opera singer, dies at 63 |
| 1996 | Michael Roberts, historian, dies at 88 |
| 1996 | Phillip Edmund Clinton Manson-Bahr, tropical mediciner, dies at 85 |
| 1995 | Calvin/Hobbes, (comic strip), dies |
| 1995 | John Powell, campaigner, dies at 75 |
| 1994 | BAM "Bob" Schreiner, airline owner (S Aviation Group), dies at 79 |
| 1994 | Harri Webb, journalist, nationalist, poet, dies at 74 |
| 1994 | Leigh Bowery, designer, pop star, model, performance artist, influenced Boy George, Vivienne Westwood, dies at 33 |
| 1994 | Leo Fuchs, Polish/US Yiddish actor (Story of Ruth), dies at 83 |
| 1994 | Thomas J Watson, Jr., CEO (IBM), dies of a stroke at 79 |
| 1994 | Woodrow "Woody" Strode, U.S. rugby player/black cowboy actor (Oil), dies |
| 1994 | Woody Strode, actor (Posse, Cotton Club, Vigilante), dies at 80 |
| 1993 | Arthur Dreifuss, director/producer (Murder in Amsterdam), dies at 85 |
| 1993 | Lambert Fokkema, founder Dutch Export Combination, dies at 80 |
| 1993 | Thomas J Watson, Jr., president of IBM (1956-71)/diplomat, dies at 79 |
| 1993 | Zviad Gamsachurdia, President of Georgia SSR (1991-1993), suicide at 54 |
| 1990 | Dalton Cathey, dies of AIDS at 44 |
| 1990 | George Allen, U.S. football coach of the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins, dies |
| 1990 | Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev, cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, 18A), dies at 62 |
| 1987 | [Gordon] Randall [P D] Garrett, author (Lord Darcy), dies at 60 |
| 1986 | Lester Albert Trimble, composer, dies at 63 |
| 1986 | Lloyd Haynes, actor (Pete Dixon-Room 222), dies at 54 |
| 1985 | Rick Nelson, singer and actor (Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), dies at 45 |
| 1985 | Sam Spiegel, Academy Award winning producer (Betrayal), dies at 84 |
| 1983 | Frank Link, actor (Burns and Schreiber Comedy Show), dies at 46 |
| 1981 | Frantisek Chaun, composer, dies at 60 |
| 1980 | Marshall McLuhan, Canadian cultural philosopher, dies at 69 |
| 1980 | Raoul Walsh, U.S. director (High Sierra), dies at about 88 |
| 1977 | Nora Marlowe, actress, dies at 62 |
| 1975 | Donal Michalsky, composer, dies at 47 |
| 1972 | Roberto Clemente, slugger (Pitts Pirate), dies in a plane crash at 38 |
| 1971 | Peter Deuel, actor (Gidget, Love on a Rooftop), commits suicide at 31 |
| 1970 | Cyril M Scott, English composer/author (Alchemist), dies at 91 |
| 1969 | Salvatore Baccaloni, opera singer and actor (Full of Life), dies at 69 |
| 1968 | Carl Oscar Ahues, German International Chess Master (1950), dies at 85 |
| 1968 | George Louis Francis Lewis, composer, dies at 16 |
| 1968 | Sabin V Dragoi, composer, dies at 74 |
| 1966 | Chief Nipo Strongheart, Native Amer actor (Pony Soldier), dies at 75 |
| 1966 | Pieter C A Geyl, historian (History of Dutch Race), dies |
| 1963 | Albert Plesman, aviation pioneer, dies |
| 1960 | Germaine Loosveldt, Flemish actress (Trees die Upright), dies at 69 |
| 1960 | Semyon Semyonovich Bogatiryov, composer, dies at 70 |
| 1958 | Gustav Hermann Unger, composer, dies at 72 |
| 1954 | Peter Van Anrooy, conductor and composer (Piet Hein Rhapsodie), dies at 75 |
| 1953 | Albert Plesman, Dutch aviation pioneer/founder (KLM), dies at 64 |
| 1951 | Maxim M Litvinov, Meyer H Wallach, Russian diplomat, dies at 75 |
| 1951 | Philipp A Kohnstamm, Dutch philosopher/physicist, dies at 76 |
| 1950 | Charles Koechlin, French composer (Jungle Book), dies at 83 |
| 1950 | Karl Renner, Austrian Chancellor/president (1918-20, 45-50), dies at 80 |
| 1948 | Malcolm Campbell, English race driver, dies at 63 |
| 1947 | Franz X. Ritter von Epp, German General (SW Africa), dies at 79 |
| 1946 | Frits [Frederik H] Tartaud, Dutch actor, dies at 89 |
| 1945 | Donald Douglas II, dies at 40 |
| 1941 | Sigwart Aspestrand, composer, dies at 85 |
| 1938 | Richard N Roland Holst, Dutch artist/painter, dies at 70 |
| 1936 | Miguel de Unamuno Jugo, Span philosopher/poet (Cancionero), dies at 72 |
| 1936 | William FA Ellison, Irish clergyman/astronomer, dies at 72 |
| 1936 | Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish Educator |
| 1921 | Jozsef Kiss, Hungarian literary (A het), dies at 78 |
| 1920 | Albert Roelofs, Dutch painter/etcher, dies at 43 |
| 1916 | Ernst Rudorff, composer, dies at 76 |
| 1907 | Jules de Trooz, Belgium PM, dies at 63 |
| 1899 | Karl Millocker, Austrian conductor and composer (Try-out Kiss), dies at 57 |
| 1894 | Thomas J Stieltjes, mathematician (Stieltjes-integral), dies at 38 |
| 1893 | Jacob G de Scheffer, Dutch vicar/theologist, dies at 74 |
| 1889 | Ion Creanga, Romanian (fairy tales) author, dies at 52 |
| 1882 | Leon Michel Gambetta, French attorney/premier (1881-82), dies at 44 |
| 1877 | Alberto Mazzucato, composer, dies at 64 |
| 1877 | JD Gustave Courbet, French painter (Baigneuses), dies at 58 |
| 1877 | Gustave Courbet, French Artist |
| 1874 | Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin, French politician and revolutionary, dies |
| 1872 | Aleksis Kivi, Stenvall, Finnish writer/poet (Kanervala), dies at 38 |
| 1862 | James Edward Rains, lawyer/Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 29 |
| 1862 | Joshua Woodrow Sill, U.S. Union Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 31 |
| 1859 | Luigi Ricci, composer, dies at 54 |
| 1848 | Oliver Shaw, composer, dies at 69 |
| 1818 | Jean-Pierre Duport, composer, dies at 77 |
| 1809 | Franz Ignaz Beck, composer, dies at 75 |
| 1802 | Francis Lewis, Welsh / U.S. merchant and signer Declaration of Independence, dies at 89 |
| 1802 | Hugo Franz Karl Alexander von Kerpen, composer, dies at 53 |
| 1775 | Richard Montgomery, General, dies fighting British |
| 1733 | Hubert K Poot, Dutch poet (Akkerleven), dies at 44 |
| 1719 | John Flamsteed, 1st Astronomer Royal, dies at 73 |
| 1659 | Janos Apaczai Csere, Hungarian theologist (Magyar Logikacska), dies at 34 |
| 1652 | Frances Cecil, 2nd wife of English earl of Shaftesbury, dies |
| 1647 | Giovanni Maria Trabaci, composer, dies |
| 1616 | Jacques Le Maire, pirate/explorer (Lemaire Strait), dies at 31 |
| 1583 | Thomas Erastus, Switzerland, theologist, dies |
| 1384 | John Wycliffe, English religious reformer/bible translator, dies |
| 1382 | Daigaku, Zen teacher/46th head of Engakuji, dies in Kamakura Japan |
| 439 | Melania the Younger, Roman monastery founder/saint, dies at about 56 |
| 406 | Godagisel, king of the Vandals, dies in battle |
| 192 | Lucius AA Commodus, Emperor of Rome (180-192), murdered at 31 |
